One month from playoff hockey, Ball Arena in downtown Denver hosts a heavyweight matchup tonight that could preview a second-round playoff series. The NHL\u2019s two winningest teams \u2014 the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche \u2014 add another entry into one of the league\u2019s most intense rivalries.<\/p>\n
Can Dallas keep rolling after winning 14 of their last 16 games in regulation? Or will a banged-up Avalanche squad finally solve their recent power-play struggles and depth issues?<\/p>\n
As Mile High Hockey Lab\u2019s Jackie Kay pointed out yesterday, this team usually responds with a strong effort after a couple of days of criticism. They\u2019ve done it before: Landeskog scored the night after being called an underachiever; MacFarland landed Nazem Kadri at the deadline. This group loves proving people wrong.<\/p>\n
Despite being pulled in Pittsburgh, Scott Wedgewood gets the start tonight. That decision makes it clear who Jared Bednar views as his guy heading into the playoffs. In what amounts to the biggest game of the regular season, it\u2019s time for Wedgewood to deliver.<\/p>\n
We also heard Nathan MacKinnon mention the drawbacks of going 11-7 in light of injuries, and it looks like the message was heard by coaches and management as they are abandoning that approach against Dallas.<\/p>\n
Note: The Avalanche have not confirmed who will be called up, but we speculate it will be Taylor Makar.<\/p>\n
Scott Wedgewood
MacKenzie Blackwood<\/p>\n
The Colorado Avalanche aren\u2019t the only team that has faced injury issues, and Dallas hasn\u2019t used theirs as an excuse, cementing themselves as the hottest team out of the Olympic break with a 14-1-1 record since we ended the pause. All (or most) of that has been achieved without Mikko Rantanen, Tyler Seguin, or Roope Hintz.<\/p>\n
The Stars have seen key contributions from the depth of their lineup, both young and old, with Matt Duchene, Sam Steele, and Justin Hryckowian making key contributions. They will be tested against a Colorado group that is desperate to get right, and although without key pieces, still harbouring the skills of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.<\/p>\n
Big two points here with Dallas sitting just three behind the Avalanche despite Colorado\u2019s dominant start to the season. The Presidents\u2019 Trophy will run through the Central Division, and the title will be earned.<\/p>\n
Jake Oettinger
Casey DeSmith<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One month from playoff hockey, Ball Arena in downtown Denver hosts a heavyweight matchup tonight that could preview…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":510028,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5117],"tags":[29254,3597,196,147,5278,5,4,197],"class_list":{"0":"post-510027","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas-stars","8":"tag-colorado-avalanche-game-coverage","9":"tag-colorado-avalanche-previews","10":"tag-dallas","11":"tag-dallas-stars","12":"tag-dallasstars","13":"tag-hockey","14":"tag-nhl","15":"tag-stars"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116251657446222514","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=510027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510027\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/510028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=510027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=510027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=510027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}